R
obyn Exton was 26 and working at a London-
based branding agency when the idea struck
to create an app. One of her clients had
a dating business. Grindr was out in the
market but Tinder hadn’t yet reached the UK.
“It was great for gay guys, and straight products
were starting to think about how they play in
that space,” she says. “At the same time, I was using
this bad lesbian dating site that was really an
uncomfortable experience... When I was then looking
ě
for gay men and for straight people, I realised it
was absurd that no-one had truly looked at what
women want. Meanwhile, I was going to these cool
queer East London [clubs] and thinking, ‘Why don’t
the dating apps look more like this?’” So Exton decided
to do something about it.
ǰ
extra job, sold her possessions and managed
to pull together around $16,000. A night
course in coding enabled her to understand
more about the world she was entering and,
with support from the London tech
¢ǰĴȂ
App Store. “I think it took a good chunk of
¢ ǯ
¢
impact on doing it because I had no idea
how hard it was going to be.”Slowly building a team around
her, Exton was basically learning on
ę ¢ǯ ȃ
ę ě Ȯ
saw a lot of things that did work,
lots of things that didn’t, and
¢
¢ǯȄ
HER is a tool that helps
lesbian, bisexual and queer people
connect with each other. A tech
product designed by a single
woman for single women, it
recognises how we use technology
ě¢ǯ Ȃ ǰ
so it has a Facebook-like section
with a content feed in addition to a swiping function.
“We don’t show you the closest person to you because,
ǰ ¢ǰȄ
Exton explains. “Women always plan their dates in
ǰȂǰ
Ĵǯ ę
Pinterest boards, where you upload pictures and
¢ Ȯ ¢Ȃ
ǰ ¢ Ȯ
¢ǰ
ěǯȄ ¡ ¢
likely to meet a friend as a partner and, most
¢ǰ Ȃ DZ ǰ ¢
ǰ Ȃ ¢
¢ ǯ ȃ Ĵ¢
Ĵ¢ ǯ
Vag shots are just not a thing!”
Today, the app has about two million users, and
řŖ ě ǰ
ǯ
route, a path Exton says isn’t always a smooth one for
a woman, the company has raised about $3.2 million
śś ǰ
with international growth seeing it translated into
French, with German, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese
. Related
ŗǰŖŖŖ
Řŗ ǰ
¢¢ǰ
women and queer people meet.
At a time of changing perceptions towards
¡¢ǰ ¢
for the LGBTQI community, Exton says the
¢
impact on how younger women are seeing
¡¢ǰ ¢ ę
ǰ
Stewart talk about their experiences. “The54 ELLE AUSTRALIA
Self-described “non-tech person” turned app developer
Robyn Extonis making it easier for LGBTQI women
to connect amid what she says is “the next sexual
revolution”,redefining mobile dating in the processI’M WITH HER
TECH TRAILBLAZER
HER app founder
Robyn Exton